Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Medieval Meanderings

Yvoire, France calls itself "village fleuri" which roughly translates as "flower-bedecked village,"* and it is an apt description. For someone like me, who is inordinately fond of flowers, it was a real treat.
Pat, Winkie, and I wandered for a while, as I started to show you in my previous instalment of this travelogue. (It was only when I looked for some specific pictures, which I knew I had taken, that I realized I'd accidentally deleted even more photos than I had previously thought. So I went back to my file recovery software and found them again! Oh, I love it when technology works.)

We snuck through a gelateria and discovered a beautiful, shaded little patio out back, where we ordered crêpes. I have never had crêpes like these!

Crêpe with local seafood, cream, and balsamic boules.

Oh. My. Goodness. It was absolutely delicious.

After lunch, I meandered through the village.

Everywhere we went in Switzerland and this area of France, we saw these watering troughs.

I'm guessing they were originally intended for watering livestock, but they were potable water (unless otherwise indicated) and had unique spouts. Nowadays, as we try to stop using wasteful bottled water, these fountains are great for people who carry a reusable bottle -- or cup -- with them.

I don't know if you can tell from that picture, but this walled village used to have a portcullis.

Oh! I almost forgot to show you the château! (Every respectable village has one!)

Le château d'Yvoire. We did not tour this particular castle.

This cat was completely stoned out of its gourd.

Has to be catnip. Has to.

At the quay, I did a little artsy-fartsy photography with a willow hanging over the lake.

As we were wandering around, we decided to visit this garden:

A maze like this is designed to trap my sister, Pat, who has almost the worst sense of direction of anyone I've known. (The exception is a woman who could get lost in the two-story building she'd worked in for more than 20 years.) Even with a map in hand, she would get disoriented every time she entered a new quadrant.

There was a nominal entry fee (maybe 10 Euros), but it was very worth it, even though many of the plants were past their prime. There was plenty (plenty!) of beauty to be found.

You may have to click on this picture to see the tiny droplets of water.

A well-camouflaged bee.

I love the heavy moss on the wall. It shows how long it's been there.

As we left the garden, these exotic flowers bid us farewell.

At first, we thought they were artificial flowers. No. They were alive.

With that, we headed back to the port, to take the ferry back to Nyon, Switzerland.

The next day we headed for the Alps!

P.S. I snapped a quick picture of the hours posted in this store in Nyon. Very civilized, I think.

Dimanche? Pah!

* I realize that the most straightforward translation would probably be "village of flowers," but I like my translation better.

12 comments:

Love these pictures! I travelled to France and Switzerland a few years back and LOVED them. I love everything about Europe when I go there. I could easily pictures myself living in a town "bedecked in flowers". (I like your translation better too!) :)